"Our focus is always on the locals," Joe Bracciale told Keys Weekly in early September, standing inside the Baby's Coffee café that had just opened on Fleming Street. He owns Baby's with his wife, Alessandra Torre. The business ships 35,000 bags of coffee a month to customers all over the continent, and its first Old Town location still has a door built only for people who can show a local ID or a pay stub.
That door is a good place to start a tour of Old Town's 2026 changes, because it shows the pattern. The storefronts that changed hands this year mostly went to operators Key West already knew: a roaster from Mile Marker 15, a saloon that spent two years without a home, and a planned food hall whose kitchens are set to be run by existing local restaurants. Here is where each one landed, what they changed when they moved, and what's still on the way this month.
A Lower Keys roaster crosses into Old Town
Baby's Coffee has a long history on the island. Gary Teplitsky and Olga Manosalvas bought Baby's Bodega at 1111 Duval St. in 1991 and moved the business to MM 15 in 1995. Teplitsky says the whole thing began with a coin toss: Manosalvas called heads for coffee and tails for barbecue. Bracciale and Torre were Baypoint residents and regular customers when they bought the business in 2024. Bracciale said their goal at MM 15 was "just not to screw things up."
The new café sits at 518 Fleming St., across Bahama Street from Fausto's Food Palace. It was open by Sept. 1. The building used to be an antique store, and the owners rebuilt it completely, including a new water system that runs every drop through three filters. Teplitsky still roasts for both locations, using the same Havana Roast and Cuban Roast profiles he worked out decades ago with two Cuban roasters on Duval. The beans are 100% high-mountain Jamaican coffee. Coffee grown in Cuba hasn't been sold in the United States since the 1963 embargo.
The Bahama Street side of the building has the locals feature. The Baby's Breakfast Club is open to anyone with a local ID or a pay stub. Members order online and pick up at a Dutch door on Bahama, so they never wait behind the line at the counter. Bracciale explained the reasoning plainly. Commuters who look in on the way to work and see a line of tourists "who aren't in a rush" tend to go somewhere else.
Upstairs, the owners planned a coffee lounge with dark wood, leather seating, and a balcony overlooking Fleming. It would display an 1800s Cuban flag and the original doors from the first Baby's. That space was still under construction as of the Sept. 4 report. Baby's website lists the Fleming Street café as open daily from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. The MM 15 shop closes an hour earlier, at 5 p.m.
The Tuna moves out from behind Duval
Baby's brought locals in through a side door. Smokin' Tuna Saloon brought back its own former staff.
The original Smokin' Tuna opened in 2011 at 4 Charles St. and closed in May 2024. Entertainment director Kyle Carter told the Key West Citizen that the old spot worked because "it was tucked away just enough that walking through the entrance felt like discovering something." The new location at 313 Duval St. is anything but tucked away. It's the building where Hard Rock Cafe operated until the company closed it at the end of April. The Citizen reported that the company was closing certain properties to concentrate on its casino and hotel businesses.
Those Hard Rock employees became part of the Tuna's staffing plan. Carter said the saloon expected to hire more than 60 people, a mix of returning Tuna staff, former Hard Rock workers, and new hires. Kim Sewell, who had been Hard Rock's general manager, is now Smokin' Tuna's general manager.
The doors opened Sept. 3, and Steve Molnar and Cliff Cody played the opening party. The saloon is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Live music is still the main draw. Aaron Hudgins, Elle Haley and C.W. Colt were on the early lineup with Cody. Parts of the top floor were still being finished during the soft opening. The team said everything should be done by the Oct. 15 grand opening, with "a keen eye on preserving the history of the property." The Duval frontage also gives the saloon a parade view. Its events page is selling Fantasy Fest VIP viewing for Saturday, Oct. 24, from 6 to 10 p.m., with balcony access, dinner and a first drink included.
The Charles Street space has a new tenant too. The Alamo Key West moved in, and June coverage said it was closed for the summer except for special events and private parties.
A former bank on Southard, built around local kitchens
The Reserve at 510 Southard St. takes the local-operator idea further. Co-owners J.C. and Patty Pernas are converting a former Bank of America that stood empty for eight years. The site was originally First Federal Savings & Loan, and the Pernases plan to keep architecture and art from 1962. The roughly 5,000-square-foot building is planned to hold four kitchens, three bars and a live-music stage. J.C. Pernas said every kitchen will be run by a restaurant already operating in Key West: Italian, fresh seafood, Spanish tapas and Thai. The old bank offices were torn out to make room for those kitchens, and the planned hours are noon to 11 p.m., seven days a week.
The names of those four restaurants haven't been made public. Pernas wouldn't share them with the Citizen, and the venue's website lists all four kitchens as "To Be Announced" with menus "Coming Soon." Construction started in October 2025. The original end-of-June opening slipped to a hoped-for end of July, and no report so far has confirmed that it opened. For now, think of The Reserve as an announced project on Southard.
Two smaller additions, on Angela and upper Duval
Misfit fits Old Town's tradition of small bars with lots of character. Owner Jennifer Stefanacci filed for a state license at 504 Angela St. and told What Now Miami she's aiming for a mid-October opening. The plan is a bar with light bites, built for grazing over drinks rather than a full dinner. "If you are a misfit, you are welcome here," she said.
Upper Duval got an earlier addition. Conchiglia opened in February at 816 Duval St., in the building Croissants de France used to occupy. Owners Albena Pechakova and Michael Dana rebuilt the interior and kitchen for a coastal Italian menu.
How October fills in, date by date
These new addresses open while the island's usual seasonal reopenings are also happening. Here's the order of announced dates as of Oct. 4. Some of them are targets the businesses announced in advance and may still change.
- Sept. 24: Louie's Backyard at 700 Waddell St. planned to reopen after its annual maintenance closure.
- Oct. 1: Tropic Cinema reopened, according to a KONK Life column.
- Early October: Richard Hatch's Salute! on the Beach was aiming to reopen after a summer hit hard by sargassum.
- Oct. 9: Square Grouper Key West at 920 Caroline St. stays closed until this date.
- Oct. 15: Blue Heaven at Thomas and Petronia streets plans to reopen, and Smokin' Tuna holds its grand opening on Duval.
- Mid-October: Misfit's target opening on Angela Street.
- Oct. 24: Fantasy Fest parade night, with balcony viewing sold at 313 Duval.
Cafe Sole, The Docks and La Grignote were also on the seasonal closure list. The Citizen didn't give reopening dates for them, so it's worth calling ahead.
If you only try one of these this week, the Baby's Breakfast Club signup is the easiest. Sign up with a local ID or a pay stub, order online, and pick up your coffee at the Dutch door on Bahama Street.
Holly follows these Old Town changes block by block, because who opens on Fleming, Southard or Duval affects daily life and long-term value around those streets. If you're thinking about how this year's new storefronts fit into your own plans, Holly's Real Estate can walk you through the streets where things are changing. Schedule a free consultation.